Beast Within
by Shadow Moomba
Summary: On a gloomy day in Traverse Town, a woman turns up with serious wounds and no memory of her past. Who is she and who’s after her? What mysterious power does she wield? She struggles with horrifying memories and the new life she wants. Rating may change!


Kain: Hey people! Some of you know me from my Ouran story, but those who don't, I'm Kain Lockheart!

Axel:It says your name next to the title.

Kain:I know that!

Axel:Sure ya do\\rolls eyes\\

Kain/Pulls out whistle\\Did you just roll your eyes at me?

Axel: Yes. Yes I did.

5 minutes later

Kain: Sora, would you mind giving the disclaimer? I'm kinda busy.

Sora**:Kain Lockheart does not own Kingdom Hearts. She'd like to, but... **Hey, who called the rabid fangirls?!

Kain/Smiled sweetly and hides fangirl whistle in her shirt\\Don't you have keyholes to seal? Worlds to save?

--

It was a very gloomy day in Traverse Town. It had been raining before the sun had even risen from its bed. As Squall (Leon) awoke, he felt a sense of dread set in. Shrugging it off, he stood and headed for the shower. When Leon was finished dressing, four belts and all, he headed downstairs where he met the others. After taking one look at everyone in the room, he knew that everyone else had felt what he had. But no one wanted to talk about it so they ate breakfast in silence. Even Yuffie, the ever so bubbly ninja, didn't make a sound. When they were finished, Aerith, the kind woman who adored pink and wore her long brown hair in a braid, stayed behind to wash the dishes while the others broke up for patrol.

Today, Yuffie tagged along with Leon, but, luckily for him, she wasn't at all in the mood to talk. _What is going on?_ He asked himself. It was very abnormal for the ninja to be this silent, and the feeling of dread was coiling tighter within him.

"Yuffie? You're quiet," he said in an almost worried tone. Yuffie looked up, suprised, her brown eyes clouding in confusion.

"I don't know, Squall. I just have this really bad feeling. Like something big is gonna go down."

The little ninja had no idea how right she was.

In the middle of the patrol, heartless appeared everywhere. All different kinds of them covered every piece of ground they could find. Leon brandished his gunblade and made precise swings, killing several heatless. Only to have more take their place. Yuffie threw her conformer, making a wide sweep. But still, more took their place. Leon and Yuffie were back to back, breathing heavily.

"Hey Squally, want to have a contest?" Yuffie asked as she struck a rather large heartless in the forehead with one of her shuriken.

"…are you crazy? And it's Leon!" He asked as he swung his gunblade upwards, killing a heartless that was trying to jump on his head.

"Oh, Come on Squallykins! Humor me!"

"…fine." Both Leon and Yuffie jumped at the same time, slashing and hacking away.

After about an hour of battle, Leon's eyes strayed to an alley where he saw something he never thought he'd see again. There, standing against the wall, was Rinoa. No, now that he looked again, he saw that it wasn't her, just a faded image that looked like her. There were a few differences between this image and that of his Rinoa. For one, this girl had striking hazel eyes, where Rinoa had brown. Also, Rinoa's hair was shorter and she never wore it up in a ponytail like that. Confused and wondering if he lost his mind, Leon paused in fighting to stare at the apparition. She turned her back on him and cast a look over her shoulder.

Now, Leon wasn't known for being a spur of the moment guy. He like to plan things out. But somehow, at the moment, he didn't think, he didn't plan. Jumping over several heartless, he ran after the apparition's retreating figure.

"Squall, where you goin'?" Yuffie yelled, running after him.

The rain that had let up a bit during their battle with the heartless began pounding the ground once again. Lightning flashed, casting an eerie light on everything; thunder crashed not far behind. The specter stopped about five meters from the fountain in the second district. She stepped aside and looked up into the dark, lightning ridden sky.

Leon followed her gaze up to the dark sky, and watching a rapidly falling star that had caught his eye. He watched as it came closer… and closer. His mind screamed _Move! _But his feet stayed firmly planted. Vaguely, he heard Yuffie yell at him to move, and felt her tug at his arm. But still, he didn't move an inch.

The star came closer, and was within sight now. Leon was surprised to find out that it wasn't a star; it was a woman!

Out of the corner of his eye, Leon could see the apparition gently lift her hands, and he watched in awe as the woman's descent slowed. She landed on the ground as lightly as a feather in front of the fountain. As the golden glow that was enveloping her faded, Leon could see that she was severely injured. Cautiously walking closer, he knelt down beside her, Yuffie following silently. Up close, the woman was stunning, even though Leon would never admit it. Her slightly tanned skin was marred with blood, but Leon could make out tattoos on her upper arms. Golden hair flowed out around her body, giving a slight halo effect. Quickly taking an inventory of her injuries, he noted blood trickling down her temple, a stab wound on her shoulder, a deep cut on her left cheek, slashes on her arms, blood staining the 

right side of her shirt, cuts on her thighs that looked very much like claw marks, a broken ankle, and her breathing was ragged. (A/N: Huge list, right?)

Gently, Leon lifted her in his arms, bridal style, and began carrying her back to the hotel, to Aerith's care. Yuffie ran up beside him, looking over the woman with concern.

"Careful, Squall. Don't move her too much." Tearing his gaze away from the woman in his arms, he half-heartedly glared at the young ninja.

"…It's Leon."


End file.
